“A couple of weeks before September 11th, I went into a store. I picked up a couple of cards, advertising the release of the new Mercury Rev album on 9-11-01. I got them to remind myself of the release. I left them on my desk unnoticed. Late day on September 11th I was sitting at my desk. I realized that this random day would never be forgotten.”

“My girlfriend and I always joke about my Myers-Briggs category; I’m an ENFP and there is something about my P that rarely allows me to feel like I’ve gotten enough information, history, or context about any
subject, let alone something as incomprehensible as 9-11. By my best
estimates, I have probably listened to over 4000 hours of Brian Lehrer,
Lenny Lopate, All things Considered, Etc., Etc. since 9-11 alone. This
radio has been a constant companion in my efforts to make sense of a
conflicted world.”

This painting was found on the sidewalk in our neighborhood of Williamsburgh, Brooklyn. The marker graffiti is thought to be evidence of its installation at the nearby school where it was found.

“This picture was taken from the roof of the Shaefer Brewery which has since been demolished to make way for a high rise on the Williamsburgh waterfront. This photo was taken accidentally, but I liked it so I printed it up anyway. It took on a prophetic significance later on and always engages new eyes that fall on it.”

“Like a lot of businesses in New York City my local
grocery store uses a strange Manhattan skyline
including the Twin Towers as a symbol. This odd
skyline was only recognizable as Manhattan because of
its Twin Towers. The grocery store had this skyline
printed on all of its bags. After 9/11 I wondered if
the symbol on the grocery bags would change as our
skyline had. I noticed that the Twin Towers remained
part of the bag. But it wasn

“In the days after September 11, I wrote:
The top edge of a dumpster at a construction site outside Union Square is lined with lit candles. In the square itself, small white tents house volunteers who shout to the waiting crowds what supplies are needed. Very soon a line of people forms with their arms full of plastic bins and shopping bags, delivering their donations. Through the foggy plastic container, the folded, cantaloupe-colored towels are the same color as the candles on the dumpster ledge, and I cling to this color as some argument for optimism.”

“I grew up learning Cello and I used a tuning fork every day to tune the A string. It is activated by striking it against a hard object and then touching it to an instrument or surface. Upon contact the note seems to emanate from deep within the instrument, or from everywhere. After 9/11 I was exploring the Islamic architectural influences of the towers design when someone mentioned the similarity of the arches at the base of the towers to the shape of a tune fork. I came to think of the towers as the double ends of a giant tuning fork with its base buried deep into the ground. A year ago I was moving my parents into assisted living and cleaning out the last house they would own. On a last tour of their home I discovered this tuning fork in a black case lying in the corner of a room. It is more than likely the very tuning fork I used as a child. When Philippe Petit, the tight ropewalker who illegally transversed the tops of the World Trade Centers, stepped off the first building and onto the wire he reported that the strongest sensation was the vibration or hum of the buildings. These associations, transversing memories, make my memorial, musical towers.”

“I

“On August 21, 2004, I went down to the World Trade Center to join a group of people on a walk to Madison Square Garden. This walk was to serve as a symbol of the people

“On September 13, 2001, I began teaching art at Shonto Preparatory School on the Navajo Nation. Many of my young students had brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles in the military, so the events of September 11 and the ensuing war in Afghanistan weighed heavily on their minds. In January of 2002, I had my 2nd and 3rd grade students design posters for National Book Month. The students chose a topic or a book to promote with an advertising campaign. Although months had passed and New York is so far removed from the Rez that it might as well be on another planet, several of the children’s posters proclaimed “Read About New York” or “Read About Lady Liberty”. None of the New York posters was without a graphic depiction of an airplane crashing into the twin towers. In this poster, there is hogan, a traditional Navajo house that is round or octagonal and made of logs and mud, perched on top of one of the towers. The idiosyncrasies in this drawing remind me that children understand the entire world through the lens of their own experience. Of course there are hogans in New York, and of course the Statue of Liberty looks like a Navajo woman.”